A second suspect has pleaded not guilty in the arson death of an elderly St. Rose woman.

Toby Beasley

Toby Beasley, 32, of Hahnville, entered his not guilty plea May 10 before 29th Judicial District Judge Lauren Lemmon.

Beasley is facing a first-degree murder charge in the death of 88-year-old Ophelia Shepard. Shepard, a bedridden double amputee, died Feb. 11 when she was unable to escape a fire set at her home in the 600 block of Mockingbird Lane.

Also charged with first-degree murder in the incident is Janna Firmin, 34, also of Hahnville. Firmin pleaded not guilty in April. Her trial has been set for August.

According to authorities, Shepard was at home with her 16- and 20-year-old grandsons when Beasley kicked in the door of the home shortly before 6:30 a.m., poured an accelerant onto the floor of the living room and ignited it before fleeing.

The two grandsons escaped through a window, suffering minor injuries, but were prevented by heavy smoke from

Janna Firmin

re-entering the home to help Shepard.

Firmin drove Beasley to and from Shepard's home, according to authorities.

According to an arrest report, detectives believe the fire might have been the result of a drug deal gone bad with another man living in the house who was not home when the fire was set. Firmin might have been familiar with the home because the man had been her drug dealer, according to an arrest report.

In addition to the murder charge, Beasley and Firmin were booked with aggravated arson. The Sheriff's Office also booked Beasley with two counts of attempted homicide and simple arson and booked Firmin with two counts of principal to attempted homicide.

Both Beasley and Firmin remain in custody at Nelson Coleman Correctional Center in Killona. Beasley's bond is set at $1 million, and Firmin's bond is $750,000.